Beds, such as those used in hospitals and other settings, are ordinarily equipped with a deck, a mattress that rests on the deck, and siderails. A common arrangement features four siderails, a head siderail and a foot siderail bordering the mattress along the left lateral side of the bed and another head and foot siderail bordering the mattress along the right lateral side of the bed. Typically such siderails can be raised (deployed) or stored. When raised, a substantial portion of the siderail is above the top of the mattress, making it easy for the bed occupant to discern the location of the lateral edges of the mattress. When a siderail is stored, the top of the siderail is typically vertically below the top of the mattress, which allows the occupant to easily leave or enter the bed. To facilitate ingress and egress (collectively referred to herein as “transition”) the foot siderail is stored and the head siderail is raised. The occupant can then brace herself on the head siderail during the transition from or onto the mattress. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a bed with a siderail whose features are designed with occupant ingress and egress in mind.
Beds of the type described above are ordinarily equipped with articulating decks. An articulating deck usually includes three or four longitudinally distributed deck sections. One or more sections are pivotable about a laterally extending axis. Articulation of the bed and/or movement of the occupant can cause the occupant to migrate toward the foot end of the bed. It is therefore useful to provide a feature in the siderail that the occupant can use to boost herself back toward the head of the bed.